Writing aid



Aug. 4, 1942.

c. P. LAWRENCE WRITINGAID Filed A ril 3, 1940 Avian/70A (fir/e: Plan rm Patented Aug. 4, 1942 UNETED STATES PATENT OFFICE WRITING AID Charles P. Lawrence, Weth-ersfield, Conn. Application April 3, 1940, Serial No. 327,690

3 Claims.

My invention relates to writing aids.

It has among its objects to provide an improved writing aid and more particularly one which is especially adapted to use by children during instruction in penmanship. A further object is to provide such an improved device adapted to be carried on and disposed relative to a pencil or pen in an improved manner and having improved means for assisting materially in obtaining a proper finger posture habit. Other objects are to provide such improved means which, in addition to eliminating such causes for bad writing as originate from improper finger posture, also make it easier not only to obtain a free stroke, but a more uniformly slanting disposition of the letters, all in such manner as thereby also markedly to increase the legibility of the writing. A still further object of my invention is to provide such an improved device having such improved means cooperating with and located longitudinally relative to the upper joint of the forefinger in an improved manner and including an underlying portion of an improved construction passing laterally from the writing implement underneath and around this joint and also having an improved overlying portion, or open flap, adjustable relative to this underlying portion and cooperating therewith and with the forefinger in an improved manner. These and other objects and advantages of my improved construction will, however, hereinafter more fully appear.

In the accompanying drawing, I have shown for purposes of illustration one embodiment which my invention may assume in practice.

In the drawing Figure 1 is a side elevation showing my improved writing aid in use;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of a pencil equipped with my improvement;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 3-3 of Figure 2, the flap portion being shown in a closed and an open position in full and dotted lines;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the device removed from the pencil, and

Fig. 5 is a further perspective view of the opposite side of the device shown in Figure 4.

In this illustrative construction, I have shown my improvement applied to a pencil I and including a gripping sleeve portion 2 adapted to be slid longitudinally on the pencil and having at one side thereof an improved laterally extending forefinger engaging portion, generally indicated at 3, and adapted to cooperate with the forefinger in an improved manner, as hereinafter described.

In a preferred construction, the sleeve portion 2 is formed of a single piece of sheet metal having a pencil receiving aperture 4 therethrough and having along one side edge portions 5 and B which are bent into adjacency and thereby produce a resilient sleeve adapted to locate the device in the desired position longitudinally of the pencil, such for example as that illustrated in Figure 1. I-Ierein, the laterally extending portion 3 is integral with the portion 2 and projects laterally from the sleeve 2 midway between the ends of the latter, the same herein being in the form of a narrow sheet metal tongue. This tongue 3 herein includes a portion 1 connecting it to the sleeve 2 and projecting laterally between spaced upper edge portions 5 and above a lower continuous edge portion 6. As shown, this portion I slopes downwardly and rearwardly and is also inclined slightly forwardly, i. e., toward the point of the pencil as it extends laterally relative to the latter. Herein, an upwardly extending rounded intermediate portion 8 is also provided between this portion 1 and an upper flap portion 9, rounded at l0, and which, in turn, slopes downwardly toward its free end while extending oppositely transversely relative to the portion 1 and also being disposed slightly angularly forwardly, or toward the pencil point, as shown in Figure 2. Thus, the portions 1, 8 and Bcooperate to provide a forefinger receiving portion generally rounded to fit the upper portion of that finger above the middle joint, while the end II of the portion 9 substantially overlies the sleeve portion 2, although spaced above the latter as illustrated. In a preferred construction, the extremity H of this portion 9 is also bent upward slightly to facilitate adjustment of the latter as hereinafter described. I

As a result of this construction, it will be observed that the parts I, 8 and 9 are adapted to receive and slide along the forefinger when the same is inserted longitudinally therethrough. When correctly positioned on the finger, the rear edge l2 of the portion 1 either engages or is in close adjacency to the junction of the forefinger with the body of the hand, while the flap portion 9 then extends over the top of the upper joint of that finger and angularly forwardly relative thereto. When the parts are in this position, the extremity of the flap 9 is so pressed down as to engage the top of the finger and to cause the portion 8 to engage the side of the latter. With the flap thus pressed down, the pencil is then held firmly on the forefinger so that the latter may then point directly along the pencil, which is thus comfortably connected to the finger without requiring any squeezing action whatever by the thumb.

In the use of my improved construction, it is found that it is possible thus conveniently and comfortably to dispose the forefinger in a normal and natural writing position, in such manner as, through use during early writing lessons, to facilitate the formation of correct finger posture habits during writing. For example, any effort to squeeze the pencil too tightly with the fingers cramped up too close to the point thereof results in discomfort and difficulty, while a correct writing posture such as that illustrated in Figure 1 is made normal and entirely comfortable without requiring any cramping of the forefinger or cramped squeezing of the pencil between the forefinger and the thumb. Thus, in the early stages of instruction, the children are enabled to trace the outline of the letter to be formed by merely pointing the finger and mov ing it around the letter outline, the pencil then following the pointed finger without even contact of the thumb with the pencil. Due to the natural and unstraineol position of the forefinger, it is also made easy to obtain a free stroke, and further a more uniformly slanting disposition of the letters, in such manner as thereby markedly to increase the legibility of the writing while also tending to increase somewhat the size of the writing.

Attention is also directed to the ready adjustability possible with my improved construction to adapt it to fingers of different size, the top open flap 9 being adapted to be bent up or down as necessary to let it fit snugly upon the upper joint, despite wide variations in size of the latter. Moreover through the use of this flap structure, not only is the desired connection of the pencil to the upper joint obtained, but the fiap portion is so disposed as to make this connection entirely comfortable during writing. Further, this structure makes it possible for the fiap to be opened to facilitate insertion of the forefinger and for the same to be then bent down prior to writing, and also to be again bent up to facilitate removal of the finger, all in such manner as markedly to increase the facility with which the device may be applied and removed, while also increasing the comfort and letting each user vary the pressure of the flap as is most comfortable in the individual case.

In the use of my improved construction, it is found that children who have previously written with bad finger posture show a definite improvement in writing in a remarkably short time, and that the device aids materially in forming habits of correct finger posture with a resultant improvement in the writing results obtained. Further, it is found that the device is so comfortable in use and readily individually adjustable as to be liked by the average child, a feature of marked importance in that it tends to increase the desire to cooperate. Further, with the flap adjustable in such manner as to vary the tension, the device is adapted to be used with comfort by all the children, despite wide differences in their hands.

While I have herein specifically described one form which my invention may assume in practice, it will be understood that the same has been chosen for purposes of illustration, and that the invention may be modified and embodied in various other forms without departing from its spirit or the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A writing aid comprising an integral strip of material having its opposite ends formed into reversely curved scrolls, the scroll on one end being rolled downwardly and toward the other end and forming a writing implement gripping sleeve of small diameter, and the scroll on said other end being rolled upwardly and toward said first end and forming finger enclosing and gripping means. open at the side toward the latter end and also being of sufficient dimensions and so disposed in substantial parallelism with said sleeve as to receive and grip the portion of the forefinger above the middle joint thereof, said scroll on said other end also having a. laterally extending flap terminating substantially above and vertically spaced from the implement gripping sleeve and adapted to receive in said finger enclosing and gripping means the portion of the forefinger above the middle joint as the latter finger is laterally inserted beneath said flap.

2. A writing aid as claimed in claim 1 and also having said fiap extending angularly forwardly from its scroll to conform to the angularity of the portion of the forefinger above said middle joint.

3. A writing aid as claimed in claim 1, said strip being bent between said scrolls so that said last mentioned scroll is angularly disposed and conforms to and comfortably grips the portion of said forefinger above said middle joint.

CHARLES P. LAWRENCE. 

